Regrading the Carolina Hurricanes 2014 NHL Draft Part 2

Last week I graded the first 3 rounds of the 2014 Carolina Hurricanes draft. Today, I’m going to discuss the last 4 rounds of the Canes 2014 draft class.

The Carolina Hurricanes 2014 draft class has seen 5 of its 7 draft picks play at least one game in the NHL. Having 5 NHL caliber players drafted in one draft class is extremely impressive and was a turning point in the Canes scouting department after a couple of not so good classes in years past.

The draft saw the team take 3 defenseman, 3 forwards, and 1 goalie. NHL production from the class has equated to 343 games played, 31 goals, 49 assists, 80 points, an average save percentage of just .953 and goals allowed average of 1.33. That amount of production from the class has helped reshape the Canes roster.

In part 1, I discussed draft picks Haydn Fleury, Alex Nedeljokvic, and Warren Foegele. In part 2, I’m going to discuss a few players that have played a strong role in the bottom lines of the Canes roster as well as a few players that haven’t been able to make it to the NHL.

Josh Wesley (Round 4, 96th Overall Pick)

The first pick of the 4th round for the Canes in the 2014 draft ended up being defender Josh Wesley. Wesley, hasn’t been nearly as successful at the professional level as his peers in the 2014 Hurricanes draft class, however the defender at the time of the draft looked like a decent prospect.

Josh grew up playing in the Carolina Hurricanes U-16 AAA junior team as his father played with the Carolina Hurricanes. Wesley the son of former Carolina Hurricanes great Glen Wesley, had high expectations that were hard to live up to and he was never able to get going. During Josh’s career stint with the Canes, he had a lot of competition with a deep defensive group, which was another reason why Josh failed to live up to expectations as he had a lot talent overshadowing him.

Wesley left the organization this past offseason after he agreed to a deal with the San Antonio Rampage the AHL affiliate of St. Louis Blues. Wesley was never able to make much of an impact with the Charlotte Checkers and will likely look to revamp his career with another franchise.

Grade: D-

Lucas Wallmark (4th Round, 97th Pick)

The Hurricanes second pick in the fourth round of the 2014 draft became a solid bottom 6 forward in Lucas Wallmark. Wallmark has made large strides as a young prospect and made a name for himself by becoming a game regular last season.

Wallmark was a forward that the Canes thought could contribute on the NHL level after a few years and they found a steal in round 4. Lucas Wallmark was drafted primarily because of his hockey-sense, vision, tenacity, defense, and face-off skills. Although his defense and face-off have paved the way for his roster spot, his offensive numbers haven’t been too bad.

In his first season with the Charlotte Checkers, Wallmark scored 24 goals and assisted on 22 passes with a total of 46 points. Wallmark followed up that performance with 17 goals, 38 assists and 55 points in 45 games the following season. In 121 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, Wallmark has scored 13 goals and 25 assists enough for 38 total points.

Wallmark has been a solid defensive center, capable of winning face-offs with a career face-off percentage of 51.4. Wallmark will likely remain a bottom 9 forward, nonetheless he was a great value pick in the 4th round. Wallmark’s defense being turned into offense can be seen below:

Grade: B

Clark Bishop (5th Round, 127th Pick)

Clark Bishop has been another forward for the Carolina Hurricanes that has out performed their draft ranking. Typically players in rounds 5-7 are guys that are on the verge of bottom 9 roles, however most will peak in AHL. The question remains: Is bishop one of those “on the verge” guys?

The answer for this mystery man remains in question. Bishop was called up to the Checkers in 2016 where he totaled 6 points in 42 games which wasn’t exactly an ideal start. After a stint with the Florida Everblades, Bishop returned the next season with intention to perform better as he recorded  7 goals and 21 assists in 68 games.

While those aren’t exactly eye popping numbers, scoring isn’t necessarily the young Canadians game. Clark Bishop has been a player that has been brought up the NHL squad when the team has needed a spark. Bishop plays with a lot of energy and aggressiveness but he just never really finds ways to create for himself.

Bishop is a great depth forward to have and he will likely get a few call ups if he decides to remain with the team in the future.

Grade: B-